The Frugal Mage

After some time, Rayven left the marketplace and visited the Adventurer's Guild.

The hall was filled with activity. There were several groups of people discussing their missions, their experience with some beast-hunting tasks, while others were actually having meals.

Rayven smelled the scent of roasted meat and cheap ale from the tavern side of the guildhouse.

Despite the atmosphere, Rayven blended in almost too well. He doesn't look like a magician anyway.

He wasn't wearing a mage's robe or carrying a staff that could point him as a mage.

Still, because of his lack of sword, leather armor, or any adventuring tools or equipment, he just seemed like a newbie or someone who would be making a mission request instead.

"Master Rayven…" Calder muttered beside him, clearly unhappy. He couldn't help but frown after seeing the rowdy guildhall filled with brawny men.

"Are you certain you wish to dismiss me here? This place looks unsafe." He softly said.

As an escort warrior, he could tell that these adventurers around him were dangerous.

Rayven sighed. "Calder… I'm fine here… Look… I'm not exactly alone here." He gestured toward the back corner of the hall, where three familiar figures were waving at him. Dennis, Tristan, and Luke were there…

They seemed so glad after seeing Rayven.

Calder pressed his lips as he wanted to argue. Rayven could see it in his eyes—but at last, the young escort gave a stiff bow.

"Very well. But if trouble comes, remember I will not forgive myself if you fall."

He was tasked to guard Rayven by Albert after all. So he felt conflicted.

Rayven chuckled. "Don't worry… I'm almost 15, I'll be an adult."

Apparently, adulthood here was 15…

Calder shook his head in defeat as he left the guildhall.

Rayven then greeted his three friends… He walked over to Dennis, Tristan, and Luke, who greeted him with a smile.

"Rayven! You finally showed up," Dennis said as he clapped him on the shoulder.

Tristan also felt glad seeing their only mage friend.

"We thought you'd abandoned us… Or maybe you joined the Mage Guild instead."

Luke chuckled as he shook his head. "He wouldn't be joining the Adventurers Guild if he planned to do that."

Rayven nodded since he couldn't even pass the first test of the Mage Guild.

"I just had some things to deal with…So, how did you guys do yesterday? Did you take some missions?"

Dennis grinned proudly. "We did! Nothing fancy, though. Miss Stella warned us that Copper-ranks should take it slow."

"She's the new receptionist." Luke explained as he gestured at the receptionist hired by the guild.

"I see… What kind of mission did you get?" Rayven asked. He was genuinely curious about the missions that copper-ranked would take.

Tristan decided to answer this…

"First, we helped the butchers dismantle a couple of Fera Boars that hunters brought in. We worked for several hours… It wasn't glamorous, but they paid us one silver and twenty copper for the labor."

Luke added, "Then we escorted a herbalist just outside the city walls. She needed help gathering fried leaf, or was it dried whiff or something... Anyway, it's pretty simple, no fighting—though we did scare off a few snakes and rabbits. That earned us another silver."

Dennis chuckled. "Oh, and don't forget the last one. We cleaned the huts behind the guildhouse. They gave us fifty copper. Fifty! Just for shoveling filth."

Tristan grimaced. "Easiest money we've ever made, but never again. The smell still lingers."

Rayven laughed softly at their complaints. "Not bad. That makes it two silver and seventy copper altogether, right?"

To be honest, these three were strong; they should be able to hunt some Feral Beasts if they worked together.

However, it seemed that those missions weren't always available, or perhaps they require a larger group to accept them.

Luke nodded. "Exactly. We split it evenly, of course. It's not much, but it keeps us moving forward. Once we're iron-rank, we can really start as true adventurers…"

Apparently, there were points on each mission that they completed. Once they reached a certain number of completion points, they could get promoted to Iron-Rank and even to Silver-Rank…

However, at Gold-Rank, there was a certain level of strength that they must reach. No matter how many quests they take, if they couldn't reach this level of strength, they could be stuck at the Silver-Rank forever.

"Hmm… I need more than pocket change. I want a mission that pays well." Rayven muttered.

"Well, you're a mage… You should be fine." Luke muttered as he knew that there were a lot of missions that required mages.

Although most of such tasks fall into the Mage Guild, they would normally cost a lot since mages of the guild mostly came from renowned families or organizations. The spells they have recorded were definitely unique and weren't easy to obtain.

On the other hand, the ones in the Adventurer Guild were only those initiate mages who got lucky enough to be able to imprint one or a couple of Spell Runes within their mana heart.

However, purchasing Spell Rune Models wouldn't be easy for commoners, as they normally cost thousands of gold coins.

In any case, Rayven walked toward the mission board, the three trailing behind him.

The large wooden board was plastered with notices—ranging from hunting contracts to delivery errands. Most were low-paying, suited for lower ranks…

Still, Rayven swiftly found something that might be good for him.

[ Mission Request: Appraisal of Unidentified Items ]

[ Rank Requirement: Copper or higher ]

[ Description: Another adventurer has acquired a collection of unidentified relics and is seeking someone who could help him identify a few items. The task involves examining and recording item properties under guild supervision. Accuracy is required, but partial success will still be compensated. ]

[ Reward: 5 silver coins per accurate appraisal ]

[ Additional Notes: Time limit—3 days. Location—Guild Annex Room 3. ]

'Seriously… You should just visit the Auction Hall for the appraisal… Why come here?' Rayven thought as he saw the 5 silver reward.

Since his Appraisal skill costs 1 gold coin each usage, this was impossible for him.

'But… Why is this mission here?' Rayven thought as he glanced at the mission requesting to find a person…

From the portrait drawn beside it, Rayven realized that it was quite close to Farah, the woman who had been captured by illegal slave traders and was rescued by him before…